A SURVEY OF ISOLATION AMPLIFIER

CIRCUITS EP-RR 13

I. D. G. MACLEOD

February, 1967

Department of Engineering Physics

Research School of Physical Sciences

T U E AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

HANCOCK
berra, A.C.T., Australia.

f TJ 1 6 3 TJ163.A87 EP-RR13.
. A87 924135
EP- RR1 3 's]
A.N.U. LIBRARY

3i
 This book was published by ANU Press between 1965–1991.
This republication is part of the digitisation project being carried
out by Scholarly Information Services/Library and ANU Press.
This project aims to make past scholarly works published
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A SURVEY OF ISOLATION AMPLIFIER CIRCUITS

by

L D . G. MACLEOD

February, 1967

Publication EP-RR 13

Department of Engineering P hysics,

R esearch School of P h ysical Sciences,
THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,
Canberra, A. C, T. Australia.

ft? R S P H Y S .S
Ll B R A R ^
" 6 FEB 1968
 CONTENTS
SUMMARY P age
L ist of Sym bols
1. Introduction. 1
2. A m plitude m odulation w ith tra n s fo rm e r coupling 2
2 .1 Square w ave c a r r i e r (chopper type) 3
2 .1 .1 M echanical chopper 4
2 .1 . 2 D u a l-e m itte r tr a n s is to r chopper 6
2 .1 . 3 F ie ld -e ffe c t tr a n s is to r chopper 7
2 .1 .4 P h o to -e le c tric devices 8
2 .1 . 5 S em i-conductor diode rin g -m o d u lato r 9
2. 2 Sinusoidal c a r r i e r 9
2. 2 .1 V ibrating c ap a c ito r m odulator 10
2 . 2 . 2 F. E. T. m odulator 11
2. 2. 3 V a ria b le-ca p a cita n c e diode b rid g e. 11
3. O ther fo rm s of m odulation with tra n s fo rm e r iso latio n 12
3 .1 P u ls e o r sq u a re wave c a r r ie r . 13
3 .2 Sinusoidal c a r r i e r 15
4. Iso latio n w ith a d iffe re n tia l a m p lifie r 15
4 .1 C om m on-m ode re je c tio n without p r io r am plification 16
4. 2 C om m on-m ode re je c tio n with p rio r am plification 17
5. Iso la tio n by o p tical coupling 17
5.1 Photon-coupled iso latio n with a frequency m odulated 17
c a rrie r
5. 2 D igital light coupling. 19
6. Iso la tio n by sam pling and storing. 20
7. Iso latio n by coupled flux 20
7. 1 P u ls e rela x atio n am p lifie r 20
7. 2 Second h arm o n ic type m agnetic m odulator. 22
8. O ther m ethods of iso la tio n 23
8 .1 "O verlapped” c irc u it 23
8 .2 Iso la tio n by e le c tro -m a g n e tic coupling 25
8. 3 A co u stical coupling 25
8 .4 M echanical coupling 26
9. C onclusions 26
10. A ppendices 27
10.1 Floating a m p lifie r 27
10. 2 T e m p e ra tu re -d e p en d e n t d rift reduction in the
F a irc h ild fiA709 C o p eratio n al a m p lifie r 28
10. 3 Iso la ted d riv e c irc u it fo r MOST’S. 31
11. R eferen c es 33
(i)
 SUMMARY

The re je c tio n of re la tiv e ly la rg e com m on-m ode voltages

and the sim ultaneous am plification of sm all sig n al voltages is a
com m on re q u irem en t in in stru m e n ta tio n and co n tro l. Conven­
tional d ifferen tia l a m p lifie rs a r e u sually sa tisfa c to ry , but in
applications involving la rg e o r rapidly changing com m on-m ode
voltages, m ore effective " iso latio n ” of the signal voltage is
req u ired .
Methods of coupling a sig n al voltage betw een two d iffe r­
ing com m on-m ode potentials a r e exam ined, and an a s s e ss m e n t
is made of each m ethod’s su itab ility fo r p a rtic u la r applications.
 LIST O F SYMBOLS

A S5 a. c. cou p led a m p lifie r

A e= d. c. cou p led a m p lifie r

D 6= d em o d u lato r

s d iodes
Dr d2

E . E = s ig n a l v o ltag e
Slg
E es co m m o n -m o d e vo ltag e
cm

E out+
s= output v o ltag e

LPF er lo w -p a s s f ilte r

M s m o d u lato r

MM sr m o n o sta b le m u ltiv ib ra to r

PS s= flo atin g p o w er supply

Q c= tra n s isto r

R FO s= ra d io -fre q u e n c y o s c illa to r

ST s= S ch m itt t r i g g e r

T c= tr a n s f o r m e r

(iii)
 1
1. INTRODUCTION

The output voltage of a transducer is often accompanied by a large

common-mode voltage to ground. This is particularly true of transducers associat­
ed with e lectrical machinery.

The large common-mode voltage may not be a problem when the indicat­
ing equipment, for example, an oscillograph, does not have to be grounded. In many
cases, however, the transducer output voltage must be made available to equipment
which is grounded. Provided that the common-mode voltage is only a few volts (for
transistorized circuits) or a few tens of volts (for vacuum tube circuits), the tra n s­
ducer's output may be applied to a conventional differential amplifier, this amplifier
being relatively insensitive to the common-mode v o l t a g e . 5

When the common-mode voltage is g reater than a hundred volts or so, it

becomes impracticable to use conventional differential am plifiers, particularly when
the transducer output voltage is sm all and a high common-mode rejection ratio
(CMRR) is required. In such cases an amplifier with an inherently greater CMRR
and allowable range of common-mode voltages is required. Such amplifiers will be
called "isolation am plifiers".

An examination of commercially available isolation am plifiers has r e ­

vealed only a sm all number which could be suitable. Typical of these are the
Philbrick Researches SP2A^ which operates on the principle of section 2.1. 5, the
Brush # 13-4215-80 high voltage d. c. am plifier5 which chops the input signal and
isolates with a transform er, and Dynamics Instrument Corp. # 6050 wideband
differential d. c. am plifier6 which achieves isolation by modulation and demodulation
of a 100 kHz carrier.

In some applications, certain characteristics of the above amplifiers ( e. g.

- 100 [x V/day drift for the SP2A, frequency response of only 0-200 Hz for the
#13-4215-80, and - 300 V peak common-mode voltage for the #6050), may be a
limitation. In general, these am plifiers are also too expensive for installations
which require a large number. Considering the wide range of possible applications
and the accompanying range of performance requirem ents, a number of possible
isolation amplifier circuits is examined below and relevant characteristics a re given.
This range of circuits should allow the sim plest (and hopefully the cheapest) sa tis­
factory circuit to be chosen for particular applications.
2. A M PLITU D E MODULATION WITH TRANSFORM ER COUPLING

A tr a n s f o r m e r c a n ac h ie v e a la r g e CMRR w hen a s ig n a l v o ltag e w ith

a co m m o n -m o d e co m p o n en t to gro u n d is a p p lied to th e p r im a r y w inding and th e s ig n a l
v o ltag e is re c o v e re d fro m th e se c o n d a ry w inding. T h is r e je c tio n is in c re a s e d by
sh ie ld in g th e tr a n s f o r m e r , an d fo r low co m m o n -m o d e fre q u e n c ie s . U n fo rtu n a te ly ,
th e fre q u e n c y r e s p o n s e of a co n v en tio n al tr a n s f o r m e r d o e s n o t ex ten d down to d. c.
If th e s ig n a l to b e is o la te d co n tain s d. c. and lo w -fre q u e n c y co m p o n en ts, th e m eth o d
of m o dulating a c a r r i e r fre q u e n c y by the s ig n a l v o ltag e, c o u p lin g th e m o d u lated
c a r r i e r to g ro u n d v ia a tr a n s f o r m e r , and th e n d em o d u latin g th e c a r r i e r to o b ta in an
is o la te d v e rs io n of th e in p u t sig n a l, m ay b e u s e d (se e F ig u r e 1).

N ote: a m p lif ie r m ay p re c e d e d e m o d u l­
a to r if s ig n a l le v e ls a r e low.

F eed b ack (if re q u ire d )

Iso la tio n w ith p r io r a m p lific a tio n

E .
s ig ■®O utput

E
cm

i M

F eed b ack (if re q u ire d )

Is o la tio n w ithout p r io r a m p lific a tio n
F ig u re 1. ISOLATION WITH A TRA N SFO RM ER
 AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING 3

A com m on fo rm of m odulation is am plitude m odulation, w h erein th e a m p li­

tude of the c a r r ie r w aveform envelope is m ade to v a ry in sym pathy with th e am plitude
of the signal. When am plitude m odulation is used, it is often n e c e s s a ry to em ploy
negative feedback to overcom e n o n -lin e a ritie s and in s ta b ilitie s in the tr a n s f e r c h a ra c t­
e r is tic s of th e a m p lifie r and m odulators (see F ig u re 1). T ypical re a so n s fo r th e se
d efects a re ; sen sitiv ity of the dem odulation m ethod to v aria tio n s of the m a rk -s p a c e
ra tio of a m echanical chopper, changes in th e effective tra n s fo rm e r ra tio w ith signal
level, and n o n -lin e a ritie s in s o lid -s ta te m odulators.

The pro v isio n of negative feedback a t the input to th e iso la tio n a m p lifie r
involves the sam e p ro b lem s as th o se which it is being used to overcom e and if th e
feedback voltage is coupled by a tra n s fo rm e r, it too m ust b e m odulated and dem odulat­
ed. The o v e ra ll lin e a rity of the iso latio n a m p lifie r w ill be lim ited by th e lin e a rity of
the feedback and the balance betw een the dem o d u lato rs. T echniques such as b iasin g
and high signal levels can be used to im prove th e lin e a rity of th e feedback c irc u it but
the need for feedback can be a s e rio u s disadvantage.

F ortunately, if the p erfo rm an ce re q u ire m e n ts a r e not too s tr ic t, c a re in

the design of the forw ard sig n al path can so m etim es avoid the need fo r feedback.

The CMRR achieved with the iso latin g tra n s fo rm e r is v ery la rg e a t d. c.

and d e c re a s e s with frequency b e ca u se of s tra y cap acitan ces in the tra n s fo rm e r and
capacitive c u rre n ts flowing in both the sh ield s and the w indings. The re je c tio n ach iev ­
ed w ill depend to som e extent on the d ispo sitio n of sh ield s w ithin th e tra n s fo rm e r and
the im pedances of the windings but in one c o m m e rcial c irc u it using a s c re e n e d t r a n s ­
fo rm e r, a CMRR of approxim ately 120 dB a t 60 cycles p e r second is re p o rte d 5. If the
re je c tio n ra tio at h ig h er frequencies is insufficient, the o v e ra ll re je c tio n can be in ­
c re a s e d by am plifying the signal b efo re iso latio n .

If the frequency re sp o n se of th e d. c. coupled a m p lifie r is too re s tric te d ,

it is p o ssib le to p a ra lle l an a. c. coupled sig n al path (using a wide band iso la tio n tr a n s ­
fo rm er) with the d. c. sig n al path, and com bine th e ir output a fte r iso latio n (as shown
in Figure 2) to obtain a g re a te r band-w idth . O v erall negative feedback m ay be r e ­
quired to sm ooth out undulations in the frequency re sp o n se n e a r th e c ro s s o v e r f r e ­
quency. The above approach can be adop ted if any of the c a r r ie r - ty p e iso la tio n
a m p lifie rs to be d e sc rib e d below is s a tisfa c to ry fo r a given application a p a rt fro m a
lim ited frequency resp o n se.

2 .1 Square-W ave C a r r ie r (Chopper Type)

A sq u are-w av e c a r r ie r m ay be produced by "chopping" the input signal.

T his is usually achieved by a lte rn a te ly applying and rem oving the input sig n al (half­
wave chopping) o r perio d ically re v e rsin g its p o la rity (full-w ave chopping). T he chopped
signal may be applied to the iso latio n tra n s fo rm e r d ire c tly , o r a fte r som e p re lim in ­
ary am plification.
4 AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING

A. C. Signal path
$
Input
> \y Output

i
•I
D. C. Signal Path
Figure 2: PARALLEL A. C. and D. C. SIGNAL PATHS

The input signal can be recovered from the modulated c a rrie r by phase-
sensitive rectification and low-pass filtering (see Figure 3). In this case, depending
on the acceptab le ripple amplitude, unless complex filters a re used, the frequency
response is limited to about one-tenth of the carrier-frequency for half-wave chopp­
ing and about one-quarter of the c a rrie r frequency for full-wave chopping. It is
often thought that there is a theoretical limitation to the band-width of the input signal
recoverable from the chopped signal, of some fraction of the chopping frequency. It
has been shown that this limitation is practical rather than theoretical*8 and the’bver-
lapped" circuit examined in section 8. 1 is a case of a chopper-type am plifier whose
frequency response does not depend prim arily on the chopping frequency.

2 .1.1 Mechanical Chopper

Refs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (see Figure 3)

The mechanical chopper has the inherent advantages of a very high "off”
to "on" resistance ratio, virtually no offset voltage or current and very good isola­
tion of the driving signal. Unfortunately, being mechanical, it has a limited life

As an example that (in the ideal case) bandwidth is not a function of the fundamental
c a rrie r frequency, consider an ideal full-wave chopper am plifier sim ilar to that
shown in Fig. 3. The amplified modulated signal, Vm(Xj = - kjA V depending on
the polarity of the input chopper (with k = input transform er ratio and A = amplifier
gain). The demodulated signal = - vmo^ depending on the polarity of the output
chopper (with k2 = output transform er ratio). If the choppers are in perfect syn­
chronism and take only a sm all tim e to change polarity, the output signal, VQu^ =
+ ( + ^ k2 Vin) and - (- k^ k Vin ) respectively as the choppers are in the positive
and negative positions, i. e. Vout = k^ k2 Vin continuously, complete with all fre ­
quency components.
AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING 5

Output

Modulated Signal

Mark Space
Half Wave Circuit

Full Wave Circuit

Note: Choppers can be mechanical or solid state.
FIGURE 3. "CHOPPER" TYPE CIRCUIT (SQUARE WAVE CARRIER)

and reliability, suffers from contact bounce (which can be reduced with m ercury wett­
ing), and is relatively slow in operation.

Conventional mechanical choppers normally have a maximum chopping rate

of about 400 Hz, but choppers which will operate at up to 2, 000 Hz have been report-
6 AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING

9 10
ed ’ . T hese high speed choppers can be used with conventional c irc u its to
obtain a useful frequency re sp o n se of 100 Hz o r so.

An advantage of the m echanical chopper is that the d riving signal need not
be isolated from ground. M echanical choppers can be used e ith e r b efo re or a fte r a m ­
plification of the tra n s d u c e r output but, depending on the method of dem odulation,
o v erall feedback is often re q u ire d , thus com plicating the c irc u it.

B ecause of its low "on" re s is ta n c e and high "off" re s is ta n c e the m ech an ­

ic al chopper is suitable for a wide range of load im pedances. With c a re , lo n g -term
sta b ilitie s of the o rd e r of s e v e ra l pi V can be achieved.

2 .1 . 2 D ual-E m itter T r a n s is to r Chopper

R efs. 14,15, 16

The u se of junction tr a n s is to r s in chopping ap plications has been tre a te d

extensively in the lite ra tu re . 1 ^» 1 ®» 21,22 The d u a l-e m itte r tr a n s is to r is a
n a tu ra l extension of the junction tr a n s is to r used as a chopper and in th is application
it is su p e rio r to the conventional device, which w ill not be c o n sid e re d fu rth er.

When tra n s is to rs a re being operated as sw itches, th e ir "on" voltage may

be, reduced su b stan tially if they a re operated in the in v erted m ode, i. e. , by in te r ­
changing the n o rm a l co lle cto r and e m i t t e r . 20 jf two tr a n s is to r s a re o p e ra t­
ed "back to back", th e ir "on" voltages balance to produce a much low er offset voltage.
The v a ria tio n s in the com bined offset voltage with te m p e ra tu re a r e a lso su b stan tially
le ss than those of the individual tr a n s is to r s , if the p a ir is p h y sically and th e rm a lly
m atched. The d u a l-e m itte r tr a n s is to r is functionally equivalent to such a p a ir.
C u rrently available devices have offset voltages of - 50 f i V m axim um , leakage
c u rre n ts of 20 pA, tra n s fe r re s is ta n c e s of 25 m ß , offset voltage d rifts of -hzV / °C,
tra n s itio n cap a c itie s of 2 pF and "on" re s is ta n c e s of 100 ß 14, 15. T h ese d evices a re
suitable sw itches for load im pedances of i= lM ß and voltages down to m illiv o lts, and
can in many c a se s be substituted for the m echanical choppers in th e c irc u its of sectio n
2 . 1 . 1 with th e attendant advantages of fa s te r op eratio n and longer life. If a com m on­
mode voltage is a sso c iate d with the signal, the d riv e voltage fo r tu rn in g th e se tr a n s i s ­
to rs "on" and "off" has to be iso la ted fro m ground. A fa c to r which can be a s e rio u s
disadvantage in low -level c irc u its is th a t at th e in sta n t of tu rn in g th e tra n s is to r s on
(and off) the sudden change in d riv e voltage is coupled into the sig n al c irc u it b ecau se
of the dynam ic m ism atch existing betw een the two e m itte r tra n s itio n cap acitan ces.
The "tu rn -o ff" tra n s ie n t is usually w o rse than th e "tu rn -o n " b e ca u se during "tu rn -o n ",
th e se c ap a c ito rs charge through the tr a n s is to r 's re la tiv e ly low "on" re s is ta n c e w h e re ­
as during "tu rn -o ff" the c ap a c ito rs d isch a rg e through th e h ig h er s ig n a l-c irc u it r e s i s ­
tance. The effect of th e se tra n s ie n t spik es is slightly reduced by using driving signals
with a fa st ris e -tim e , which red u ces the p erio d of dynam ic m ism atch and thus shortens
the tra n sie n t.
AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING 7

If the spikes are smoothed by a low-pass filter, they produce an

equivalent offset voltage which will vary as the characteristics of the spikes vary with
changes in rise-tim e, drive voltage and transition capacitance. The magnitude of
this offset, calculated for 100% dynamic mismatch,+is approximately 2mV for a
100 kß input impedance, 5 kHz chopping rate (with - IV drive signal) and 2 pF tra n si­
tion capacitance. There is a reasonable degree of matching between the capacitances
and in practice this offset voltage can be a sm all fraction of a millivolt and have
reasonable stability so that it can be compensated. The feed-through of switching
spikes can, depending on the applied signal voltage and load impedance, limit the
chopping rate to several kHz and thus lim it the useful band-width to a few hundred Hz.
In the case where the tran sisto r chopper is used prior to any amplification of the
transducer output, care will need to be exercised in the design of the isolating tra n s­
form er since the transients tend to excite oscillations in the transform er stray r e ­
actances which may be troublesome in the following circuits.

Because of the fast operation of the dual-em itter transistor, the

m ark-space ratio stability depends mainly on the drive-voltage timing accuracy. For
this reason, feedback may not be necessary.

The dual-em itter tran sisto r will be suitable as a chopper after some
prelim inary amplification of a low level transducer’s output or when acting directly
on a high level (say > 50 mV) low impedance (say < 50 ß ) transducer output. In
these cases the isolating transform er design will not be as difficult because of the
lower circuit impedances and higher signal level compared to the spike amplitude.

2.1. 3 Field Effect T ransistor Chopper

Refs. 23-29. (See Figure 4)

Source electrode Drain electrode

Gate electrode
Figure 4: FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR SCHEMATIC

The field effect tran sisto r (F. E. T .) is roughly equivalent to a re s is t­

or whose resistance between the source and drain is variable over a wide range of
from a few hundred ohms to hundreds of megohms by a control voltage applied to the
gate. This device has very low offset voltages ( < . 1 ^iV)^ and low leakage currents
in the tum ed-off state. By the use of a square-wave gating voltage, the F. E. T. can
be used in a series or shunt divider circuit as a chopper. In this application, the
F. E. T. is comparable to the dual-em itter tran sisto r in that it is a satisfactory
8 AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING

chopper fo r m odulation of the low -level tra n s d u c e r outputs p r io r to any am plification,

a p a rt from the feed-through of sw itching spikes, which in th is c ase a re la rg e r. T his
is because th e re is no b a lan c in g betw een a p a ir of devices and, w hile the in te r ­
e lec tro d e capacitances a re of the sam e o rd e r, a la rg e r gating voltage is req u ired .
By coupling an antiphase gating w aveform to the d ra in via a capacitance equal to Cgd
of F igure 4, a la rg e reduction in the spikes can b e achieved. T his reduction is
lim ited, how ever, by the dependence of Cgd on applied voltage and te m p e ratu re. In
th e c a se w here the m odulation is to be p e rfo rm ed d ire c tly on h ig h -lev el low -
im pedance tra n s d u c e r outputs o r a fte r am p lificatio n of the low -level tra n sd u c e r
outputs, the F. E. T. is again com parab le to the dual e m itte r tr a n s is to r in th at
b ecau se the spike feed through is not as se rio u s, it is a sa tisfa c to ry chopper.

The gating voltage w ill have to be iso lated fo r a s e r ie s chopper, but

ad vantage can be taken of th e in su la ted -g ate F. E. T. ’s low g ate c u rre n t to sim plify
th e design of the gate voltage iso latin g tra n s fo rm e r. A technique which can be used
fo r th is sim plification is outlined in Appendix 10. 3. The F. E. T. is suited for load
re s is ta n c e s of fro m kß ’s to Mß ’s depending on th e device and w hether it is connected
a s a s e r ie s o r shunt chopper.

2 .1 .4 P h o to e le c tric D evices

R efs. 30, 31, 32, 33

The p h o to -tra n s is to rs and photo-F . E. T. ’s which a r e available can

be used in much the sam e m anner as the n o rm a l dev ices except th a t in th is case, the
d riv e voltage is not re q u ire d and is rep la ce d by a light so u rc e which is turned on and
off as req u ired . Except fo r the c a se of p h o to -re s is to rs , the tra n s ie n t spikes a re
not avoided, b ecau se the photo-junction, in effect, supplies the energy n e c e ssa ry to
tu rn the device on and the changes in e lec tro d e voltages a r e s till coupled by in te r­
elec tro d e capacitances to the sig n al c irc u it.

P h o to -re s is to rs a r e alm o st id eal as chopper elem en ts, having good

"off” to "on” re s is ta n c e ra tio s and low offset voltages and d rifts ( - 1 ^ V / °C and
- 1 fi V / week) to g eth er with excellent iso latio n of the driving signal, but they a re
com paratively slow in operation (for solid s ta te devices) and they a re not g en erally
u sed at chopping ra te s above a few hundred Hz22. Using a conventional half-w ave
c irc u it, th is lim its the attain ab le frequency re sp o n se to about tw enty Hz. The "on"
and "off" re s is ta n c e s of p h o to re s isto rs can be v a rie d over a wide ran g e and they a re
su itab le fo r load re s is ta n c e s of ten s of kß ’s to Mß ’s.

P h o to -re s is to rs a r e ra th e r u n c e rta in in th e ir chopping b ecau se of

slow operation and they a re norm ally used in s e rie s -s h u n t p a irs w ith o v erall negative
feedback.

P h o to -re s is to rs need not be co n sid ered fo r chopping a fte r p re lim in ­

a ry am plification of th e tra n s d u c e r outputs sin ce d u a l-e m itte r tr a n s is to r s o r
AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING 9

F. E. T. 's a r e su p e rio r in th is application b e ca u se of th e ir fa st operation.

2 .1 . 5 Sem iconductor Diode R ing-M odulator

R efs. 12, 13, 34. (See F ig u re 5)

Output

AAAA
Switching
d riv e

F ig u re 5. SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE RING -MODULATOR

The diode b rid g e is m ade to conduct a lte rn a te ly on one side and then
th e o th er by the switching d riv e. The sig n al voltage is thus tra n s m itte d on a lte rn a te
cy cles to opposite sid es of tra n s fo rm e r T2 p rim a ry . To avoid feed-through of the
sw itching d riv e , very good m atching of the tra n s fo rm e rs and diodes and low s tra y
capacitances a r e re q u ire d . B ecause of the fo rw ard voltage of the diodes, th is m odu­
la to r is not suited to low voltages but ra th e r to low c u rre n ts fro m high im pedances.
S chw artz13 gives a d rift fig u re of 10“7 am ps over a te m p e ra tu re range of 20°C to
50 °C, w h ilst K eonjian and Schm idt3'1 have d etected c u rre n ts as low as 10 _1^ am ps a t
room te m p e ra tu re . D uring the sw itching p erio d , sp ik es w ill be coupled to the output
c irc u it by dynam ic m ism atch of the diode cap acitan ces. It is not co n sid ered th a t th is
m odulator is satisfa c to ry fo r the sig n al levels involved p rio r to am plification of low -
level tra n s d u c e r output voltages. D u a l-e m itte r tr a n s is to r s o r F. E. T. 's a r e m o re
suitable fo r u se a fte r such am plification. A rin g -m o d u la to r can be useful fo r t r a n s ­
d u c ers w hose output is c u rre n t ra th e r than voltage, and v ery fa st chopping r a te s and
good frequency resp o n se (MHz) a r e possib le.

2. 2 Sinusoidal C a r rie r

With som e solid s ta te m o d u lato rs, the in te re le c tro d e cap acitan ces
cau se spikes to be coupled into the sig n al c irc u it d u rin g the r is e and fall of a s q u a re -
wave gating signaL B ecause of n o n -lin e a r cap acitan ces, differin g c irc u it re s is ta n c e
during tu rn -o ff and tu m -o n , and a sy m m e tric a l gating sig n als, the ch arg e tra n s fe rre d
10 AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING

to the signal circuit during turn-off does not normally cancel that transferred during
tum -on. As a result, a net charge is injected into the signal circuit during every
chopping cycle and an offset voltage develops, with resultant drift voltages as the
rate of charge injection varies. It can be shown that the offset voltage and resultant
drift can be reduced by using a sine-wave in place of a square-wave carrier2** . jn
other circuits such as the vibrating capacitor modulator, a sinusoidal c a rrie r is
preferred because it is easier to obtain than a square-wave c a rrie r.

When recovering the input signal from the modulated carrier, phase
sensitive demodulation must be used if feedback is to be applied. The demodulation
is usually followed by a low-pass filter and in this case the useful band-width extends
to about one-tenth of the c a rrie r frequency. It has been shown that the use of a suit­
able demodulator could increase the useful band width, perhaps to greater than the
c a rrie r frequency® but the circuits required a re too complex to be practicable.

2. 2.1 Vibrating Capacitor Modulator

Refs. 11, 15, 35. (See Figure 6)

^coupling

Output

variable

Figure 6: VIBRATING CAPACITOR MODULATOR

This type of modulator is particularly suited to high impedance

circuits and the measurement of minute currents, and is based on the principle that
if a capacitor having a d. c. voltage across it has its capacitance varied, there will
be a change of voltage across the capacitor and a current through it. The magni­
tudes of this current and voltage depend on the source impedance, signal voltage,
capacitance change and rate of capacitance change. For the application being
considered, the capacitance can be varied in an approximately sinusoidal manner by
a vibrator, at a frequency of up to several kHz, giving a useful band width of 100 Hz
or so.

This type of circuit generally requires feedback to linearize the tra n s­

fer function against changes in vibration amplitude and stray capacities. The driving
signal for the vibrator need not be isolated because the capacitor plate can be insulat­
ed from the vibrator.
AM PLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING 11

The d rift behaviour of the v ib ratin g c a p a c ito r m odulator, when used

fo r m e asu rin g s m a ll voltages from re la tiv e ly low so u rc e im pedances, is re la tiv e ly
p o o r, u n le ss a g re a t deal of c a re is tak en in th e design and p re p a ra tio n of th e c ap a c it­
o r p la te s. V ariatio n s in contact poten tial of th e c a p a c ito r p lates cau se voltage
fluctuations and d rift. Day to day d rifts of 10“15 am ps w ith high im pedance so u rc es
and 1 mV w ith low im pedance so u rc e s have been achieved25.

2. 2. 2 Field Effect T r a n s is to r M odulator

The F. E. T. m ay be used a s a m odulator fo r a sin u so id al c a r r ie r as

w ell as fo r a sq u are-w av e c a r r ie r . The F. E. T. a c ts as a v a ria b le re s is ta n c e whose
value depends on the applied g a te -so u rc e voltage. By vary in g the g a te -so u rc e voltage
in a sin usoidal m anner about a b iasin g voltage, an ap p roxim ately sin u so id al c a r r ie r
w ill be g en erated . Such a m odulator has b een u sed a t 1 kHz in a d. c. a m p lifie r, to
produce a c irc u it having a d rift ra te of 1 fiV /°C w ith a 30 kß input im pedance22 .

2. 2. 3 V ariable C apacitance Diode B ridge

R efs. 4 ,1 3 , 36

In a sem iconductor diode, th e junction cap acitan ce

v d +1 V )TT
C = (

w here V = applied voltage in re v e rs e d ire c tio n

Vd = diffusion poten tial (about h alf a volt in silic o n diodes)

n = 2 fo r step p - n junction

= 3 fo r graded p - n junction

thus, the capacitance of the diode w ill be a function of the applied b ia s (forw ard o r
re v e rse ).

R eferrin g to F igure 7, if E Sig # = 0 and the b rid g e is balanced, no

m odulation signal w ill ap p ear a t the output. When a sm all sig n al voltage is applied,
th e b rid g e becom es unbalanced and a c a r r ie r frequency sig n al a p p ea rs a t the output,
with m agnitude and phase d eterm in ed by the m agnitude and p o la rity of the input
signal. The v a ria tio n of diode capacitan ce for a 5 mV applied signal is a p p ro x im ate­
ly 0. 2% and so, fo r a c c u ra te reading of m illiv o lt signal lev els, a ll com ponents in the
b rid g e would have to be stab le to about 0. 002%. Schw artz*2 re p o rts th a t AVd =
- 1 m V /° C and = 650 p p m /° C and a lso th a t 5/li V /° C d rift fig u res have been
achieved in a la b o ra to ry environm ent w ith a 1 Mß so u rc e im pedance.
12 AMPLITUDE MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER COUPLING

^coupling "^conjugate

—j
Output
\
” WW
\ r AAl / C a r r ie r
R \ /-\ *^R frequency
v\ w *~7/~ d riv e
\ / _______________
F igure 7. VARIABLE CAPACITANCE DIODE BRIDGE .

4
Two c o m m ercial a m p lifie rs b ased on th is b rid g e, the P h ilb ric k P2A
and AEG re p o rt d rifts of 50 p V /° C and 30 p V / ° C resp ectiv ely . P h ilb rick re p o rt
a stab ility of - 100 p V p e r day.

Pow er gain is achieved during th e m odulation but n u ll-b alan ce fe e d ­

back is g en erally re q u ire d to lin e a riz e the tra n s fe r c h a ra c te ris tic . T his m odulator
is suitable for d ire c t application to the tra n s d u c e r outputs if the stab ility is a c c e p t­
able. The c a r r ie r frequency can be m ade of th e o rd e r of MHz and a frequency
re sp o n se of tens of kH z is re a d ily achieved. The input re s is ta n c e is very high but
the input capacitance can be s e v e ra l hundred pF.

3. OTHER FORMS OF MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER ISOLATION

An a lte rn a tiv e to v a ria tio n of the am plitude of the c a r r ie r w aveform is

v aria tio n of its frequency. T his method of m odulation is in h eren tly le ss sen sitiv e to
n o ise added to the m odulated c a r r i e r since such n o ise changes the am plitude of th is
w aveform but has little effect on its frequency (or ra te of z e ro c ro ssin g s) until the
re la tiv e m agnitude of the noise is larg e. For both a sinusoidal and a sq u are-w av e
c a r r ie r , the m odulation and dem odulation c irc u its a re usually m o re com plex than
those re q u ire d fo r am plitude m odulation. The in h eren t in sen sitiv ity to changes of
gain in the coupling c irc u its and to additive n o ise may offset the in c re a se d com plexity.
The useful band-w idth with frequency m odulation is no rm ally le ss than one-tenth of
the c a r r i e r frequency.

The frequency m odulated c a r r i e r can be iso la ted by p assin g it through

a tra n s fo rm e r in the m anner shown in F ig u re 1. By using a Schm itt trig g e r to d e tec t
the z e ro -c ro s s in g of the m odulated c a r r i e r and averaging the output of a m onostable
m u ltiv ib ra to r which fire s at ev ery +ve going (say) zero c ro ssin g , the dem odulation
OTHER FORMS OF MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER ISOLATION 13

tr a n s f e r c h a r a c te ris tic (frequency deviation v e rsu s output voltage) can be m ade quite
lin e a r. If the m odulation tra n s fe r c h a ra c te ris tic (input voltage v e rsu s frequency
deviation) can a lso b e made lin e a r, it may not b e n e c e s s a ry to apply negative feed ­
back, thus sim plifying the c irc u its .

The CMRR achieved w ith a given tra n s fo rm e r w ill be b e tte r for a f r e ­

quency m odulated c a r r i e r than fo r an am plitude m odulated c a r r ie r . T his is b ecau se
th e s tra y signal coupled into the tra n s fo rm e r secondary by the com m on-m ode voltage
(between the p rim a ry and ground), has little effect on th e frequency of the m odulated
c a r r ie r .

The re m a rk s m ade below with re s p e c t to a frequency m odulated sq u are

wave apply in g e n eral to p u lse width, pulse frequency, p u lse position etc. m odulation.

3 .1 P u lse o r Square Wave C a rrie r

Ref. 37

With pulsed c a r r ie r s , such fo rm s of m odulation a s p u lse code m odula­

tio n (PCM), pulse position m odulation (PPM ) and p u lse frequency m odulation (PFM)
can b e em ployed. B ecause of the com plex c ir c u its re q u ire d for coding and decoding
PCM, it w ill not be co n sid ered fu rth e r.

A p o ssib le approach is to frequency m odulate a tr a in of p u lses o r

sq u a re w aves. K. M uirhead of the D epartm ent of E ngineering P h y sic s u ses such a
technique in h is handling of s e is m ic data. A c irc u it which can b e u sed in the iso latio n
of tra n s d u c e r sig n al voltages fro m th e ir a sso c ia te d com m on-m ode voltages is shown
in F ig u re 8. The op eratio n of th is c irc u it is as follows: The am plified tra n s d u c e r
sig n al voltage is converted to a p ro p o rtio n al constant c u rre n t which is used to ch arg e
the frequency d eterm ining c ap a c ito r in an a sta b le m u ltiv ib ra to r. The deviation in
the m u ltiv ib ra to r’s re p e titio n frequency is a lin e a r function of th e deviation in c h a rg ­
ing c u rre n t and thus of the am plified signal voltage. K. M uirhead has v e rifie d th at
th is tra n s fe r function (between signal voltage and frequency deviation) is both stab le
and lin e a r and th at even fo r an a cc u ra cy of 0. 5% of full sc a le , feedback is not
n e c e ssa ry . The m odulated signal is coupled to ground via an iso latin g tra n s fo rm e r
in much th e sam e m anner as w ith am plitude m odulated sig n als, an im p o rtan t d iffe r­
ence being that frequency m odulated signals a r e le s s affected by im p re sse d n o ise and
induced com m on-m ode voltages, the design of the iso latin g tra n s fo rm e r thus being
sim plified. The sig n al fro m the secondary of the tra n s fo rm e r o p e ra tes a Schm itt
trig g e r which d riv e s a m onostable m u ltiv ib ra to r. The output pulse -width of the
m onostable is chosen to give a unity m a rk -s p a c e ra tio when the input signal to the
m odulator is z ero . The output stag e develops a voltage p ro p o rtio n al in m agnitude and
sign to the deviation of the m a rk -s p a c e ra tio fro m unity and thus p ro p o rtio n al to the
frequency deviation.

W ithout e x ce ssiv e c o st o r c irc u it com plexity, th is output voltage can

14 OTHER FORMS OF MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER ISOLATION

Functional Arrangement

V+ (from PS)
•- - - - T- - - - - - - - - - -
I Frequency modulated square wave
> c *> to isolation transform er prim ary
<

_ _ Y
i
V- r 1
1 .
r
........i 1 _____ !
n
I =a +bxE ,
/- C) c sig
/ /' __ __ ------------ — a, b = constants
A stable Multivibrator
Modulator

Output

Adder
F. M. Signal from isolation
R„ = R,
transform er secondary

Demodulator
Figure 8. FREQUENCY MODULATED ISOLATION AMPLIFIER
OTHER FORMS OF MODULATION WITH TRANSFORMER ISOLATION 15

be m ade to re p re s e n t the signal voltage to w ithin b e tte r than 1% of full scale. The
attain ab le frequency re sp o n se is d e term in e d by the m o d u lato r’s m ean frequency an d
no difficulty should be experienced in obtaining a useful bandwidth of s e v e ra l kHz.
The CMRR w ill be adequate if c a re is taken w ith th e shielding of th e floating a m p lifie r
and input leads and balancing of com m on-m ode input im pedances. The input re fe rre d
d rift depends m ainly on the fj. A709C a m p lifie r and a s is shown in Appendix 10. 2, th is
can be reduced to a reaso n ab le figure.

3. 2 Sinusoidal C a r rie r

Frequency m odulation of a sin u so id al c a r r ie r is n o rm ally achieved by

v a ria tio n of a re a c tiv e elem ent in th e frequency d eterm in in g netw ork of an o sc illa to r.
P h ase m odulation m ay be thought of as m odulation of frequency by the d e riv ativ e of
the m odulating w aveform . In the c a se of a sim p le L - C tuned c irc u it, the change in
frequency is in v e rse ly p ro p o rtio n al to the sq u a re ro o t of the change in e ith e r of the
elem ents and thus is reaso n ab ly lin e a r only fo r sm a ll changes in the elem en ts. A
fu rth e r difficulty is th a t the tr a n s f e r c h a ra c te ris tic of e le c tro n ic a lly v a riab le r e ­
active elem ents, such as a re a cta n c e tube o r voltage v aria b le c ap a c ito r, may b e both
n o n -lin e a r and subject to changes in c h a r a c te ris tic s . F o r the above re a so n s it is
often n e c e s sa ry to apply o v e ra ll negative feedback. The dem odulation of the m odulat­
ed c a r r i e r can be achieved in the sam e m an n er a s w as outlined in sectio n 3 .1 above,
and th is p ro c e ss w ill be both stab le and lin e a r. In the c ase of p h ase m odulation, it
may be n e c e s sa ry to m aintain a re fe re n c e sig n al and u n less th is re fe re n c e is a v a il­
able to both the m odulator and dem odulator, tro u b le with d rift m ay be experienced.

B ecause of the need fo r o v e ra ll negative feedback if reaso n ab le

a cc u ra cy is dem anded, it is co n sid ered th a t a sin u so id al c a r r i e r is in fe rio r to a
sq u are-w ave or pulse c a r r i e r in the p re s e n t application and it w ill not be exam ined
fu rth er.

4. ISOLATION WITH A DIFFEREN TIA L A M PLIFIER

R efs. 2 ,3 ,1 0 ,3 8 ,3 9 ,4 0 ,4 1 ,4 2 (See F ig u re 9)

E lectro n ic c irc u it techniques w hich am plify d ifferen tia l signals with

inherently high re je ctio n ra tio s for com m on-m ode sig n als, a r e available. R ejection
of com m on-m ode voltages in favour of d iffe re n tia l v oltages can exceed 120 dB a t very
low freq u en cies, but th is ra tio u sually falls off fa irly quickly fo r high so u rc e im ped­
ances and as frequencies in c re a s e . Two p o ssib le approaches to re je c tio n of the
com m on-m ode a r e to apply th e tra n s d u c e r’s output to a d iffe re n tia l a m p lifie r -
(a) with and (bj without p rio r am plification by a floating a m p lifie r. A ttenuation w ill
be re q u ire d to b rin g the com m on-m ode voltage into the allow able range fo r the d iffe r­
ential a m p lifie r, b ecause the com m on-m ode voltage is assu m ed to be too la rg e for
d ire c t application.
16 ISOLATION WITH A DIFFERENTIAL AM PLIFIER

tra n s d u c e r
------ W - -------
Jsig A

P re c is io n j
'em A A ttenuator
P a ir 1
Output
I-A S

r
< <, D ifferen tial
^ A m p lifier

C ircuit for High C om m on-m ode V oltages

« Output
f
D ifferen tial
Ecm A A m plifier

C ircu it fo r Low C om m on-m ode Voltages

F ig u re 9. COMMON-MODE ISOLATION WITH A D IFFE R -

ENTIAL A M PLIFIER.

4 .1 Common-M ode R ejection W ithout P r io r A m plification

(See F ig u re 9)

If we co n sid er a la rg e com m on-m ode voltage (say 1, 000 V) and a

sm a ll signal (say 5 mV) i t may be seen th at a CMRR of 2 x 107 : 1 w ill be re q u ire d
fo r 1% e r r o r . T his figure is not re a d ily achieved by conventional d ifferen tial input
c irc u its . A part from th is objection, if only one sid e of the tra n s d u c e r is connected
to the com m on-m ode voltage, any output re s is ta n c e in th e tra n s d u c e r adds to one
a rm of the atten u ato r p a ir and so c au se s uneven d iv isio n of the com m on-m ode voltage.
T his w ill cau se the e r r o r in division of the com m on-m ode voltage to appear as a
d ifferen tia l input to the d ifferen tia l a m p lifie r and it w ill be am plified. F o r a 5 mV
signal on 1, 000 volts of com m on mode, the division ra tio of th e two atten u ato rs w ill
ISOLATION WITH A D IFFERENTIAL AM PLIFIER 17

have to a g re e to w ithin 0. 000005% (not a p ra c tic a l proposition), if th e e r r o r due to

d iffe re n tia l am p lificatio n of com m on-m ode is to be le ss than 1%. F o r low er com m on­
mode voltages and h ig h e r, low im pedance, signal lev els th is c irc u it could becom e
p ra c tic a b le . The frequency re sp o n se w ill b e good and the input im pedance w ill depend
on th e a tte n u ato r. The d rift stab ility w ill depend on the division ra tio and stab ility of
the a tte n u a to r and on th e d rift c h a ra c te ris tic s of the o p eratio n al am p lifier. F o r la rg e
atte n u ato r division ra tio s the d ifferen tia l input sig n al w ill be reduced and th e effective
a m p lifie r d rift (r e fe rr e d to th e tra n s d u c e r output) w ill be equal to th e a m p lifie r d rift
m ultiplied by the a tte n u a to r ra tio .

4. 2 Common Mode R ejection with P r io r A m plification

(See F ig u re 10)

As m entioned above, a sig n al of 5 mV and a com m on-m ode voltage of

1, 000 V re q u ire s an a g reem en t betw een the two a tte n u ato r ra tio s of 0. 000005%. A
p ra c tic a b le fig u re is . 01% 43 . T his im p lies th a t the sig n al voltage has to be a m p li­
fied by floating a m p lifie rs to a level of - 5 volts, i. e. 10 volts d ifferen tial. The u se
of an inphase and an tip h ase signal voltage fro m equal (low im pedance) a m p lifie r out­
puts at the top of th e a tte n u a to rs red u ces the p ro b lem of in a c c u ra te division of the
com m on-m ode voltage caused by unequal com m on-m ode so u rc e im pedances. With
th e h ig h er d iffe re n tia l sig n al voltage p re se n te d to the d ifferen tia l a m p lifie r, a CMRR
of 80dB is re q u ire d for 1% e r r o r and th is is re a d ily achieved*. The c irc u it outlined
w ill give quite sa tisfa c to ry p e rfo rm an c e if a fin ite d. c. im pedance to ground (due to
the a tte n u ato r p air) is acceptable fo r the tra n s d u c e r being considered. The c irc u it
u ses four a m p lifie rs , th re e of th e se a re floating (see Appendix 10.1) and one has a
high CMRR and (preferably) a la rg e com m on-m ode range. Fortunately, the F a irch ild
^A709C o p eratio n al amplifier^® is s a tisfa c to ry in a ll four positions - th ese a m p lifie rs
a re av ailab le o ff-th e -sh e lf a t a reaso n ab le p ric e , so th a t the o v e ra ll cost need not be
ex cessive.

5. ISOLATION BY OPTICAL COUPLING

Light so u rc e s and d e te c to rs a r e g en erally not lin e a r in op eratio n and

fo r th is re a so n th e c irc u its to be c o n sid e re d below w ill m ake u se of the light coupling
fo r conveying frequency and not am plitude in fo rm atio n or as an on-off in d icato r fo r
p a ra lle l d ig ital inform ation.

5 .1 Photon-C oupled Iso latio n With a Frequency M odulated C a r rie r

L ight-coupled is o la to rs with ex cellen t e le c tro s ta tic shielding, wide

band-w idth and high breakdow n voltages a re now av ailab le. ^ At p re s e n t th e se devices
a re ra th e r expensive but p ric e s can b e expected to fall a s they becom e m o re common.
T here is a fa irly la rg e lo ss of signal during iso latio n but with frequency m odulation
th is lo ss can easily be m ade up by am plification.
18 ISOLATION BY O PTICAL COUPLING

Floating A m p lifier

P re c is io n
A ttenuator D ifferen tial
P a ir A m p lifier
Output

C irc u it fo r high level tra n s d u c e r outputs

's i g 0
t ^ +A > -
...f ..-1 V
Ecm 0
Floating \ s
A m p lifiers -A ~1
i
P re c is io n
A ttenuator
P a ir
? \
D iffere n tia l
A m p lifier
-A 0> ----- •
»Output

a
C irc u it fo r low lev el tra n s d u c e r outputs.

F ig u re 10. ISOLATION BY A DIFFEREN TIA L A M PLIFIER A FTER

PRIOR AMPLIFICATION.
ISOLATION BY OPTICAL COUPLING 19

An obvious application is to replace the isolation transform er of

Figure 1 by such an isolator and a signal-level restoring amplifier. The convention­
al isolation transform er is likely to give quite adequate performance in this situation,
however, and it is unlikely that the additional cost of the photon-coupled isolator and
am plifier could be justified in normal applications.

5. 2 Digital Light Coupling

Light coupling
Analogue
8 bit (. 4%) Buffer Output
Analogue to Amplifiers
digital and D-A
converter converter
8 light 8 light
detectors

Figure 11. ISOLATION OF COMMON-MODE BY DIGITAL

LIGHT COUPLING.

Referring to Figure 11, the transducer output can be amplified and

sampled at short intervals by a floating analogue to digital (A - D) converter whose
parallel binary outputs can be coupled to a digital to analogue (D - A) converter at
ground potential via neon-lamp-photo-diode pairs or the photon coupled isolators
mentioned in Section 5.1. It would of course be possible to use a serial rather than
parallel transm ission of information, thus reducing the number of optical circuits to
one. The D-A converter can reconvert the sampled values in sympathy with the
sampling tim es and so yield an approximation to the transducer outputs. A-D and
D-A converters can function at tens of thousands of sam ples/sec. and the frequency
response could extend to several kHz. The input impedance and drift stability depend
mainly on the amplifier preceding the A-D converter. The CMRR will be determined
prim arily by stray currents in the floating circuits p rio r to digitization. The light
coupling itself can have virtually infinite rejection.

Unfortunately, the above system is complex and will probably be too

expensive to be considered except for very high common-mode voltages such as a re
associated with power transm ission lines.

£ RS P H Y S .S
Li b r a r y
>)
20 ISOLATION BY SAMPLING AND STORING

6. ISOLATION BY SAMPLING AND STORING

If the tra n s d u c e r output is am plified, sam pled, and sto red in a floating
digital o r analogue sto re , the s to re can be disconnected and re tu rn e d to ground poten­
tia l w hereupon it can be re a d out. An analogue sto re could tak e the form of a sam ple
and hold o p eratio n al a m p lifie r c irc u it which would have to be connected to the tr a n s ­
d u c er and back to ground by m echanical sw itches b ecause of the high com m on-m ode
voltage. T he m echanical sw itches would lim it th e speed of operation to a few ten s of
s a m p le s /s e c .

A digital sa m p le r and s to re would typically c o n sist of an A-D c o n v ert­

e r feeding m agnetic c o re s. T hese c o re s need not be re tu rn e d to ground p otential to
be re a d b e ca u se the ’’d riv e " and " se n se " lin es can be in su lated from th e floating
c irc u its . The sam pling speed in th is case could be considerably g re a te r - up to
s e v e ra l te n s of thousands of s a m p le s /s e c .

The input im pedance, d rift sta b ility and com m on-m ode rejectio n w ill
m ainly depend on the floating p re -a m p lifie r.

7. ISOLATION BY COUPLED FLUX

In c o n tra st to the u se of th e ra te of change of flux in a tra n s fo rm e r

c o re as the method of isolation, it is p o ssib le to use th e m agnitude and d irectio n of
th e flux itse lf. In p ra c tic e , it is som ew hat m o re difficult to m e asu re the magnitude
of th e flux than it is to m e asu re its ra te of change, and the n o n -lin ea r n atu re of the
B - H c h a r a c te ris tic s of the m agnetic co re m eans th a t som e form of null feedback is
re q u ire d . In th is case, how ever, the p ro v isio n of such feedback is quite sim ple in as
much as a ll th a t is re q u ire d is an additional winding on the m agnetic co re whose
m. m. f. is equal to and opposes the m. m. f. of the tra n s d u c e r winding. Two methods
of using coupled flux a s a m eans of iso latio n a r e d iscu ssed below.

7 .1 P u lse R elaxation A m plifier

The c irc u it of F igure 12(i) u se s a m agnetic c o re with a B - H c h a ra c t­

e ris tic s im ila r to th a t depicted in F ig u re 12 (ii). Taking the sim p le c a se of no applied
a. c. b ia s, a tra in of alte rn atin g p u lses is applied to the secondary c irc u it. The
m agnitude and duration of th e se p u lses is such th a t if the c o re w as sa tu ra te d in the
-B d ire c tio n p rio r to the application of a p u lse which tends to d riv e the flux in the +B
d irectio n , then th e c o re w ill ju s t be s a tu ra te d in th e +B d ire c tio n at the end of th is
pulse. D uring a pulse, until th e c o re is sa tu ra te d , little c u rre n t flows in the load.
R e fe rrin g to F igure 12(ii), if the flux p rio r to the application of such a pulse was not
at (e) (w here the previous p u lse would have left it) but due to the action of a control
winding m. m. f. w as a t som e o ther point, say point (c), the co re would sa tu ra te
e a r lie r in the pulse and the p u lse voltage would a p p e a r a c ro ss the load ra th e r than
ISOLATION B" COUPLED FLUX 21
Pulse Supply
Low-pass filter
Output

____ > A. C. bias

Feedback
Figure 12 (i)

+B

-B . !
sat
Figure 12 (ii)

average output current

l d *

control m. m.

without a. c. bias

with a. c. bias

a. c. bias

Figure 12 (iii)
FIGURE 12. PULSE-RELAXATION AMPLIFIER
22 ISOLATION BY COUPLED FLUX

the secondary winding for a greater proportion of the pulse period. If the control
m. m. f. remained constant, the next pulse (in the opposite direction) would have to
drive the flux from point (d) to saturation in the -B direction, that is, over the full
range of flux density and as a result the current flowing in the load would be sm aller
than that which flowed during the previous pulse, thus giving rise to an average com­
ponent of current in the load which varies with the control winding m. m. f. If the
control winding m. m. f. is sm all and lies in the range bb’ it will not affect the
average output current, as shown in Figure 12(iii). The addition of an a. c. bias
(synchronized with the pulse supply so that its peak and thepube coincide) with a peak
to peak amplitude of aaf overcomes the dead zone and produces a transfer character­
istic sim ilar to that shown in Figure 12 (iii). It is doubtful if this characteristic
would be sufficiently stable to avoid the use of feedback. The provision of negative
feedback is a simple m atter because it can be applied via a feedback winding which
can be at ground potential. Morgan and M cFerran^5 claim exceptionally good drift
stability for this type of amplifier giving a figure of 10“^ watts from -70°C to 140°C
with a 50ß input resistance contrasted with about 10“® watt for a conventional mag­
netic amplifier.

Inasmuch as the control m. m. f. depends on the current flowing in the

control winding (which will have a relatively long time constant L /R ), the frequency
response of such an amplifier will be limited by the changing input impedance and
frequency of the pulsed supply to some tens of Hz.

This circuit will be useful for transducers whose output impedance and
voltage is low and whose frequency spectrum is limited, e. g. thermocouples.

Morgan and M cFerran give a circuit for a two core amplifier which
reduces the loading on the input circuit and prevents the pulses being fed back to the
transducer^5 .

7. 2 Second Harmonic Type Magnetic Modulator

Refs. 11,46,47 (See Figure 13)

The B - H loop of a magnetic m aterial is usually sym m etrical with

respect to the origin B = 0, H = 0 and although an a. c. voltage applied through a
resisto r to a coil surrounding a core of such m aterial may be distorted by the B - H
characteristic, this distortion normally contains only a sm all percentage of even
harmonics as the positive and negative waveforms are sim ilar. If the resultant a. c.
magnetisation is displaced with respect to the origin by a d. c. bias, the distortion is
not sym m etrical, and even harmonics are present - the phase and magnitude of the
even harmonics depend on the polarity and magnitude of the d. c. bias. These even
harmonic components (typicaHy the 2nd) may be detected and used as an indication
of the d. c. bias. As the relationship between the magnitudes is non-linear, feedback
to give a null balance is required. Two matched cores a re used and opposed to
prevent the fundamental voltage from being fed back to the signal source. For high
ISOLATION BY COUPLED FLUX 23

Low Second Harmonic Content

Oscillator, frequency f.

Frequency
Doubler

Tuned to 2f
Output
f + 2f

Feedback
T , T - matched pair

Figure 13. SECOND HARMONIC TYPE MAGNETIC

MODULATOR

sensitivity, a very large number of turns on the signal winding is needed and, as a
result, the frequency response is limited to only a few Hz by the large inductance
present in the signal path. Schwartz quotes sensitivity as being 10"® amps with lkß
input re s is ta n c e ^ . This type of circuit is satisfactory for transducers with a low
impedance and predominantly d. c. output spectrum. A stability of 3 x 1 0 watts
drift over several hours is given by Noble and Baxandall^.

8. OTHER METHODS OF ISOLATION

8.1 "Overlapped C ircuitM.

The "overlapped” circuit is, in effect, two half-wave chopper-

stabilized am plifiers connected in parallel, being so arranged (by overlapping) that
no information present in the input signal is lost (see Figure 14). The demodulation
technique shown maintains the d. c. level of the output signal by setting the output to
zero when it is known that the input for that path is zero, i. e . , when it has been
chopped. This operation will be referred to as "resetting". During the interval be­
tween successive resettings, the output voltage will "droop" slightly because of the
limited low frequency response of am plifiers A1 and A2 and the coupling circuits.
This response must be sufficient to lim it the droop to an acceptable figure (if
necessary, feedback will of course improve the droop).

By using a m ark-space ratio somewhat g reater than unity in each of

the overlapped signal circuits, the input signal wiH always be present in an amplified
form from one or other of the output circuits, and by using diodes (if the signal
24 OTHER METHODS OF ISOLATION

"1
I
I a >
-4
Output

4 1
J Diodes may replace switches
if input polarity is fixed
___——- Input signal

E
cm

Output signal at
point a

Output signal
at point b

Combined output
at point c

Figure 14. "OVERLAPPED" CIRCUIT AND TYPICAL

WAVEFORMS

polarity is known beforehand) or switching (with overlap) one output and then the other
to the output terminal* the upper frequency response of the complete circuit will be
limited only by the am plifiers A1 and a 2 and the coupling circuits. As the speed of
the operation of the modulating device is not a limitation to the upper frequency
OTHER METHODS OF ISOLATION 25

response, photo-resistors, which otherwise are very good modulating elements, can
be used as the input choppers and a chopper stabilized amplifier of good performance
can be constructed.

Conventional solid state switches (such as F. E. T. ’s or dual-em itter

tran sisto rs) can be used in the output "resetting” and combining operations. Overall
feedback could be used to improve the performance, if desired.

To modify the overlapped circuit so that it is suitable for use as an

isolation amplifier, isolation may be achieved by the insertion of capacitors or wide -
band transform ers after the first set of switch contacts; see Figure 14.

The capacitors and transform ers reject the d. c. component of the

common-mode voltage, but the capacitors will couple a. c. components to ground and
to offset this, a third capacitor C3 is connected to the positive input of the differential
am plifiers.

The variations in the common-mode must not be larger than the

common-mode range of the differential am plifiers or must be so slow that the capac­
itors attenuate these variations to a reasonable level.

The general performance will be sim ilar to the am plifiers of section

2.1 but the band-width will be greater.

8. 2 Isolation by Electromagnetic Coupling

It would be reasonable to expect this method of isolation to be the least

sensitive of aH methods to the common-mode voltage. Electromagnetic coupling
includes optical coupling which has already been discussed. A technique which could
be used is shown in Figure 15. A method of modulation and demodulation not sensitive
to changes in c a rrie r amplitude should be chosen. The use of a transform er coupled
floating power supply such as that shown in Appendix 10.1 would degrade the CMRR
of the circuit of Figure 15, and an independent power supply e. g. a battery, would be
necessary if the potentially very large CMRR of this circuit is to be realized.

It is not expected that it will often be necessary to go to the lengths

described above to obtain satisfactory isolation and this type of isolation will not be
further discussed.

8. 3 Acoustical Coupling

Acoustical coupling could in some circum stanaes be a satisfactory

method of isolation. Pulse width or pulse frequency modulation would overcome
variations in the gain from the acoustical driver to the acoustical receiver. A large
power loss is associated with acoustical coupling and to reduce this loss and avoid
cross talk with other am plifiers and the environment, it may be necessary to use
26 OTHER METHODS OF ISOLATION

Ec m O
V '

F ig u re 15. ISOLATION BY ELECTROMAGNETIC COUPLING

’’sound pipes" to connect the d riv e r and re c e iv e r. The frequency re sp o n se a tta in ­

able w ill be lim ited by the av ailability of su itab le d riv e rs and re c e iv e rs and the
in c re a se d attenuation a t high a co u stic al freq u en cies.

8. 4 M echanical Coupling

It is po ssib le to achieve e le c tric a l iso la tio n by m aking the ro tatio n al

o r lin e a r position (or velocity) of an in su latin g ro d depend on the output of the t r a n s ­
d u cer. The position o r velocity of the rod would be co n v erted into e le c tric a l te rm s
by a po ten tio m eter o r coil in a m agnetic field. T h e re a r e few p o ssib le applications
w here th is m ethod would be p ra c tic a b le and it w ill not b e exam ined fu rth er.

9. CONCLUSIONS

P o ssib le c irc u its fo r iso la tio n a m p lifie rs have b een exam ined. It is
not p o ssib le to say th a t any one c irc u it is th e b e s t fo r aH applications but it ap p ears
that the c irc u it utilizin g frequency m odulated sq u a re w aves exam ined in sectio n 3.1
w ill be suitable in many c a se s.

In th e iso latio n of lo w -lev el sig n als having a re s tr ic te d frequency

sp ectru m , the chopper-type a m p lifie rs a r e usefu l. The v ib ra tin g -c a p a c ito r type of
am p lifie r a p p ea rs to have the b e s t p e rfo rm a n c e if s m a ll c u rre n ts fro m high im ped­
ances a r e to be m easu red .

If the signal lev els a r e high, th e tra n s d u c e r output (including the

com m on-m ode voltage) can be atten u ated by a p a ir of voltage d iv id e rs and applied to
a conventional d ifferen tia l a m p lifie r.
CONCLUSIONS 27

The v a ria b le -c a p a c ita n c e diode b rid g e type of m odulator re q u ire s

feedback but gives a good o v e ra ll p e rfo rm a n c e fo r m edium sig n al lev els and w ill be
usefu l when a w ide bandwidth is re q u ire d .

A com m on p ro b lem w ith iso la tio n a m p lifie rs re q u irin g feedback to

lin e a riz e and im prove th e ir p e rfo rm an c e, is th a t in applying a d. c. feedback voltage
to the input, the feedback voltage m u st b e iso la ted fro m the grounded output am p lifier.
T his often im p lies tra n s fo rm e r coupling and the o v e ra ll lin e a rity of the a m p lifie r w ill
then be d eterm in ed by the lin e a rity of th e m odulator, tra n s fo rm e r and dem odulator
in th e feedback c irc u it. For th is re a so n , c irc u its which do not re q u ire feedback a r e
to be p re fe rre d .

A w ide range of c irc u its h as been p re sen te d and from th is it should be

p o ssib le to choose an iso latio n c irc u it to su it m o st applications.

10. APPENDICES

10.1 Floating A m p lifier (See F ig u re 16).

The m odulation by th e lo w -lev el tra n s d u c e r outputs of a c a r r ie r w ave­

form is sim plified if the outputs a r e f ir s t am plified. This am plification can be
achieved by an a m p lifie r which is iso la te d from ground and h as its own floating pow er
supply. A m plifiers of the F a irc h ild gA709C type consum e a ty p ical 80 mW from
- 15 volt supplies. T h e ir low pow er re q u ire m e n t w ill be in c re a se d , by th e need to
have z e n e r diode stab ilize d su p p lies, to about 300 mW. T his pow er can be easily
supplied by a tra n s fo rm e r wound on a f e r r i te to ro id , op eratin g fro m a sq u are-w av e
drive.

F a irc h ild 2N3638A tr a n s is to r s m ake good, cheap z e n e r diodes with

about 6. 8 volts a t 20 mA. T his is achieved by op eratin g the tr a n s is to r s with r e v e r s ­
ed p o larity , the b a s e -e m itte r junction being re v e rs e b ia se d and acting as a zen er,
while the collector«4)ase junction is fo rw a rd b iased and te m p e ra tu re com pensates the
zen er. Four of th e se tr a n s is to r s a r e u sed in each of the floating pow er supplies.

The F a irc h ild piATOSC is not usually su itab le a s an o p eratio n al a m p li­

fie r when operating w ith an input re s is ta n c e of g re a te r than 20 kß o r so. Using the
m ethods outlined in Appendix 10. 2, the /iA709C can be m ade to o p e ra te s a tisfa c to rily
with a 100 kß input im pedance. T he a m p lifie r is quite se n sitiv e to changes in supply
voltage and fo r th is reaso n , th e z e n e r diode stab ilize d supply is req u ired . The
floating a m p lifie r and pow er supply should be enclosed in and connected to a shield
which is connected to the com m on-m ode p o ten tial, to p rev en t cap acitiv e and re s is tiv e
com m on-m ode c u rre n ts flowing in the sig n a l leads.
28 APPENDICES

~ i

2 x 2N3638A 15 kHz square

---- wave
2 x 2N3638A

+ 14 volts
- 14 volts common
Shield

- AE
sig

Fairchild /iA709C

Figure 16. FLOATING AMPLIFIER

10.2 Temperature-Dependent Drift Reduction in the Fairchild uA709C

Operational Amplifier.

Refs. 38, 39 (See Figure 17 )

2
41 42 There are four factors contributing to tem perature dependent drift ’

(i) The tem perature coefficient of the em itter-base voltage of Q1 and Q2 is

about -2. 5 m V /°C. By close electrical and therm al matching of the
transistors, the tem perature coefficient of the difference between
their em itter-base voltages (typically 1. 0 mV) is held to a level of
about - 3 \iV /°C .

(ii ) The forward common-emitter current gains of Q1 and Q2 are dependent

on both the tem perature and collector currents and will normally be
matched to within a few percent. The tem perature sensitivity of
current gain is approximately 1% per degree centigrade and the
APPENDICES 29

V+

Differential output to next stage

* I = constant (deliberately varied with

tem perature)
FAIRCHILD |iA709C INPUT STAGE

gain increases by about 50% for each decade of increase in collector

current (at microamp current levels).

(iii) The collector-base leakage currents in Q1 and Q2 (caused by intrinsic

and minority carriers) are not usually matched to better than about
20%. These leakage currents approximately double for every 8 C
tem perature rise and accordingly reduce the bias currents required,
but not usually by an equal amount.

(iv) In the fiA709C, the em itter current of the differential input pair is
deliberately varied with tem perature so that the t r ans-conductance
( = ß ) and therefore the voltage gain, rem ains substantially
R.
in
constant. If the current gains of Q1 and Q2 are not perfectly matched,
this variation in em itter current will cause a variation in the difference
between the bias currents of Q1 and Q2.

The first factor produces a drift in the input "offset voltage" i. e. the
voltage which must be applied between the input term inals to obtain zero output voltage.
The other three factors combine to cause a drift in the input "offset current", i. e . ,
the difference in the currents into the two input term inals with zero output voltage.

When R^ is less than lOkfi or so, the drift in offset voltage is the
predominant factor in overall drift whereas for R^ larger than 10 kß the drift due to
30 APPENDICES

offset c u rre n t becom es dom inant. The n o rm al recom m endation is that the to tal
value, R of the equalising r e s is to r plus the equivalent re s ista n c e of the offset
voltage adjustm ent netw ork, should be equal to . Adopting th is recom m endation,
the equivalent input d rift, with R^ = 100 kfl is ty p ically 50 \xW/°C, i. e. , an o rd e r
h ig her than the d rift due to the e m itte r-b a s e d ifferen tial. F ortunately, the ra tio of
the input c u rre n ts into Q1 and 02 tends to re m a in fa irly constant and by choosing the
ra tio of R^ to R equal to this ra tio , the change in the equivalent voltage offsets can
be reduced (see Figure 18). In a typical case, the ra tio of input c u rre n ts was 1. 21
at 0°C, 1. 22 at 10°C and 1. 25 at 20°, 30°, 40°, 50° and 60°C. By choosing the
ra_tioasof 1.Rn
23,to for
R th is c a se it was p o ssib le to balance the equivalent
1 eq

feedback
------W —
fo rw ard |llA709C
. - v \a ~
out
E
sig O O ffset
k' c u rre n t
adjustm ent
^ fo rw a rd X ^feedback

O ffset voltage ^ fo rw a rd + ^feedback

adjustm ent

F ig u re 18. METHOD OF COMPENSATION

d rift in the input offset voltage caused by the offset c u rre n t to w ithin 5fiV /°C over
the range from 0°C to 60°C. By a su itab le com bination of offset voltage adjustm ent
and offset c u rre n t adjustm ent, the d rift due to the change in offset c u rre n t can be
made to oppose the d rift due to the change in offset voltage and so give an even low er
o v erall d rift. This technique is p a rtic u la rly applicable to the c a s e w here operation
over only a sm all te m p e ra tu re range (say - 8°C) is d e sire d and in such a situ a tio n
an equivalent input d rift of 1(liV /° C av erag e has been achieved with R forw ard =
100 kfl and R feedback = 1 Mft. In th is p a rtic u la r case, slow random fluctuations
of the output, equivalent to about - 2 0 ^jlV peak at the input w ere observed. F or the
im pedance levels and te m p e ra tu re range quoted, the te m p e ra tu re dependent d rift
had been reduced to the point w here it was of seco n d ary im portance.

By using the method outlined, the /xA709C may be used in high im ped­
ance c irc u its which would n o rm ally p reclu d e its u se. B alancing the d rift cau sed by
offset c u rre n t against th at caused by offset voltage re d u c es the o v erall d rift in low
APPENDICES 31

im pedance c irc u its .

It has been shown that operation of the input d ifferen tia l p a ir at equal
e m itte r-b a s e voltage (and p erhaps with unequal c o lle cto r c u rre n ts ), red u ces the
d rift of the e m itte r-b a s e d ifferen tia l with te m p e ra tu re . With the /xA.709C, this
technique m ay be useful when the m ain com ponent of d rift is the change in the e m itte r-
b a se d ifferen tial. Hoffait and T hornton re p o rt at le a st a five-fold reduction in the
te m p e ra tu re coefficient of d rift^ 2 . The u se of th is m ethod m eans th at th e re w ill be
an offset voltage in the output cf the /liA709C, approxim ately equal to the gain as a
feedback a m p lifie r m ultiplied by the input offset voltage. This can be allowed for in
the next a m p lifie r stage.

10. 3 Iso la ted D rive C ircu it for M etal-O xide Sem iconductor T ra n s is to rs
(MOST’S).

Many applications ex ist, such as m u ltip lex e rs, w here MOST’s can be
used as s e r ie s sw itches. To red u ce the settlin g tim e re q u ire d for the tu rn -o n and
tu rn -o ff tra n s ie n t, a sw itching voltage w aveform with a fa st r is e tim e (say < l^iS) is
req u ired . The sw itch may have to re m a in "on” fo r long p erio d s, while the input
which has been connected is m onitored. The sw itching w aveform w ill g en erally have
to be iso la ted from ground and tra n s fo rm e r coupling can be a su itab le solution, a p a rt
from the fact th a t it is difficult to design tra n s fo rm e rs with a sufficiently wide f r e ­
quency re sp o n se . A half- o r full -w ave r e c tifie r d riv en fro m a fa irly sim ple t r a n s ­
fo rm e r can be used, but the tu rn -o ff tim e w ill be slow com pared to the tu rn -o n tim e
u n less a d isch arg in g c irc u it is in co rp o rated .

The c irc u it shown in F igu re 19 sim p lifies the design of the tra n s fo rm e r.

D rain

Source

F igure 19. ISOLATED DRIVE CIRCUIT

32 APPENDICES

A ll that is re q u ire d is that a positive going, fa st r is e -tim e pulse of sufficient a m p li­

tude and duration to charge c ap a c ito r C (through Diode D^ ) to the re q u ire d tu rn -o n
voltage, be produced a t the tra n s fo rm e r secondary. A negative-going pulse d is ­
c h arg es the c ap a c ito r through tr a n s is to r Q operating in th e com m on-base mode. The
g ate leakage c u rre n t for the MOST is very sm a ll and m ay be neglected. The ch arg e
on the c ap a c ito r leaks away m ainly as a re s u lt of the diode D^’s re v e rs e leakage
c u rre n t and the tr a n s is to r ’s c o lle c to r-b a s e leakage c u rre n t. T hese leakage c u rre n ts
tend to re m a in constant with applied voltage and so the cap a c ito r d isch arg es lin early .
Taking ty p ical values of C = 1, 000 pF, Ir e v e rs e = InA» Ick 0 = 2nA,

dV I 3 x 10~9
----- = — = ----------- = 3 volts p e r second
dt C 10“9

By overdriving the MOST during tu rn -o n , the voltage can easily be m aintained at a

su fficient level fo r a second o r m ore. Diode D2 and r e s is to r R.^ may be n e c e s sa ry
to p rev en t re v e rs e breakdow n of the e m itte r-b a s e junction in Q. R e s is to r may be
used to reduce the peak c u rre n t through diode D2 and into the e m itte r of Q.

The isolating tra n s fo rm e r need be no m ore com plicated than a fe r r ite

to roid having a few dozen p rim a ry and secondary tu rn s. The secondary r is e tim e is
lim ited by the product of the leakage inductance and the capacitance being discharged.

By driving tra n s fo rm e r T with eith e r positive p u lses o r a tria n g u la r

w aveform having a fe st positive-going r is e -tim e and a slow fa ll-tim e (so th at tr a n ­
s is to r Q does not conduct), the MOST may be kept tu rn ed on indefinitely. Fortunately,
th e tra n s ie n t induced in the signal c irc u it each tim e the voltage is re s to re d is v ery
sm all. This is because the step change of voltage a c ro s s Cgd is sm all and it ch arg es
through the d ra in -s o u rc e re s is ta n c e of the F. E. T. which, being tu rn ed "on" is low.
As an exam ple, if Cgd = 2 pf and the gate voltage is re s to re d in 1/lxS a fte r it has
fallen 1 volt, with R = 1, 000 ß
on
—12 6 “"6
I tra n s ie n t = C dV = 2x10 xlO = 2x10 Amps,
dt

V tra n s ie n t = I x R = 2mV for I jlxS in the signal c irc u it. T his

tra n s ie n t can be reduced even furfiier by re s to rin g the gate voltage m ore often, e. g. ,
a fte r it has fallen 0 .1 volts.
REFERENCES 33

11. REFERENCES

1. M EYER-BROTZ, G and A. KLEY: "The D esign of D ifferen tial D. C.

A m p lifiers with High Common-Mode R ejection. " E lectro n ic E n g in ee r­
ing, F eb ru ary , 1966, pp 77-81.

2. MIDDLEBROOK, R. D. : D ifferen tial A m p lifiers (John W iley and Sons, Inc.

New York, 1963.

3. SLAUGHTER, D. W. : "T he E m itter-C o u p led D ifferen tial A m p lifier",

T ra n s . IRE, M arch 1956. pp. 51-53.

4. PHILBRICK RESEARCHES IN C .: "SP2A O perational A m p lifier", D ata

Sheet.

5. CLEVITE CORPORATION: "B rush High Voltage D. C. A m plifier

13-421580", D ata Sheet 4215-80A.

6. DYNAMICS INSTRUMENT CORPORATION: "No. 6050 Wideband D iffere n t­

ia l D. C. A m plifier", E le c tro n ic s , A p ril 27, 1962, p. 104.

7. BUCKER FIELD, P. S. T .: "The ’P a ra lle l T ’ D. C. A m p lifier", P ro c . IEE,

Pt. IH, 1952, p. 99.

8. MACLEOD, I. D. G. : "F requen cy R esponse of C a r r ie r Type D. C.

A m p lifiers", Subm itted for Publication.

9. AIRPAX INC. : "G P-1 M echanical C hopper", D ata Sheet.

10. SCHAFER, C. R. : "D. C. A m plifier Using A ir Coupled Chopper".

E le c tro n ic s, M arch 1950, pp. 104-105.

11. KANDIAH, K. and D. E. BROWN: "High Gain D. C. A m p lifiers", P ro c.

IE E , Vol. 99, P t. 2, 1952, pp. 77-81.

12. WALSTON, J. A. and J. R. M ILLER: Chopper A m p lifiers, C hapter 10 in

" T ra n s is to r C ircuit D esign", (McGraw H ill, 1963).

13. SCHWARTZ, S. (E ditor): D. C. A m p lifiers: P a r t 2 in Selected S em i-

Conductor C irc u its Handbook (John W iley and Sons, 1961).

14. ANONYMOUS: "Solid State Choppers for T e le m e try A pplications",

P roduct P ro file , Solid State D esign, May 1965, pp. 17-18.

15. FAIRCHILD: "3N88 NPN High Speed C hoppers", D ata Sheet.

 RI

P u b lic a tio n s by D e p a rtm e n t of E n g in e e rin g P h y s ic s

F irs t
No. A utho r T itle P u b lish e d R e -is s u e d

E P -R R 1 H ibbard, L. U. C em en tin g R o to rs fo r the May, 1959 A p ril, 1967

C a n b e rra H o m o p o lar
G e n e ra to r

E P -R R 2 C ard en , P . O. L im ita tio n s of R ate of R ise Sept., 1962 A p ril, 1967

of P u ls e C u r r e n t Im posed
by Skin E ffec t in R o to rs

E P - R R .3 M a rsh a ll, R. A. T he D esign of B ru s h e s fo r J a n ., 1964 A p ril, 1967

th e C a n b e rra H om opolar
G e n e ra to r

E P -R R 4 M a rsh a ll, R . A. T he E le c tro ly tic V a ria b le May, 1964 A p ril, 1967

R e s is ta n c e T e s t L o ad /S w itch
fo r th e C a n b e rra H o m opolar
G e n e ra to r

E P -R R 5 In all, E . K . T he M ark II C oupling and Oct. , 1964 A p ril, 1967

R o to r C e n te rin g R e g is te r s
f o r th e C a n b e rra H om opo-
l a r G e n e ra to r

E P -R R 6 In all, E . K . A R eview of th e S p e c ific a ­ N o v .,1964 A p ril, 1967

tio n s and D esign of the
M ark II Oil L u b ric a te d
T h r u s t and C e n te rin g
B e a rin g s of th e C a n b e rra
H o m o p o lar G e n e ra to r

E P -R R 7 In all, E . K . P ro v in g T e s ts on th e F e b . ,1 9 6 6 A p ril, 1967

C a n b e rra H o m o p o lar G en­
e r a t o r w ith th e Two R o to rs
C onnected in S e rie s

E P -R R 8 B rad y , T. W. N otes on Speed B alan ce M ar. ,1966 A p ril, 1967

C o n tro ls on the C a n b e rra
H o m o p o lar G e n e ra to r

E P -R R 9 In all, E . K . T e s ts on th e C a n b e rra May, 1966 A p ril, 1967

H o m o p o lar G e n e ra to r
A rra n g e d to Supply the
5 M egaw att M agnet
P u b licatio n s by D epartm ent of Engineering P h y sic s (C o n t.) R2

F ir s t
No. A uthor T itle P ublished R e-issu e d

E P -R R 10 B rady, T.W . A Study of the P e rfo rm a n c e June, 1966 A pril, 1967

of the 1000 kW M otor Gen­
e r a to r Set Supplying the
C an b e rra H om opolar G en­
e ra to r Field

E P -R R 11 M acleod, I.D.G. In strum entatio n and C ontrol O c t., 1966 A pril, 1967
of the C an b erra H om opolar
G en erato r by O n-L ine C om ­
p u ter

E P -R R 12 C arden, P .O . M echanical S tre s s e s in an J a n . , 1967

Infinitely Long Homogeneous
B itte r Solenoid with F inite
E xternal Field

E P -R R 13 M acleod, I.D.G. A Survey of Isolation A m pli- Feb. , 1967

fie r C irc u its

E P -R R 14 Inall, E .K . The M ark III Coupling fo r Feb. , 1967

the R otors of the C an b erra
H om opolar G e n era to r

E P -R R 15 B ydder, E. L. On the Integ ratio n of M ar. ,1967

Liley, B .S . "B o ltzm ann -L ik e”
C ollision In te g ra ls

E P -R R 16 Vance, C. F. Sim ple T h y risto r C irc u its M ar. ,1967

to P u ls e -F ir e Ignitrons
fo r C apacitor D ischarge

E P -R R 17 B ydder, E. L. On the Evaluation of E lastic Sept. ,1967

and In elastic C ollision F r e ­
quencies fo r H ydrogenic-L ike
P la sm a s

E P -R R 18 Stebbens, A. The D esign of B ru sh es fo r M ar. ,1964 S e p t., 1967

W ard, H. the H om opolar G e n era to r at
The A u stralian National
U niversity
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